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Türkiye Scholarships Requirements for Filipinos: Who Can Apply, What It Covers, and How Selection Works

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By iStart Editorial Team·Published October 10, 2026

Türkiye Scholarships Requirements for Filipinos: Who Can Apply, What It Covers, and How Selection Works

It is late, and everything you find covers half the tuition or asks for money you do not have. Then a friend mentions Türkiye, and the old question returns: can a Filipino even apply? Yes. Türkiye Scholarships (Türkiye Bursları in Turkish) is a government scholarship run by the Republic of Türkiye and coordinated by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), open to international students from associate degrees to PhD study.

The honest map: it is competitive and merit-based, you apply yourself online, and applying is free. This guide covers the full-time degree scholarship; short-term research and success awards have their own rules.

Who Can Apply: Requirements by Level

The eligibility requirements for Türkiye Scholarships are citizenship of any country except Türkiye, an age limit and a minimum grade for your level, and having graduated, or graduating before August of the current academic year. The Philippines is on the application system's country list. Not eligible: former Turkish citizens, and anyone already enrolled at a Turkish university at the level they are applying for.

  • Associate and bachelor's degree: under 21; at least 70% academic achievement, or 90% for Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy.
  • Master's: under 30; at least 75%.
  • PhD: under 35; at least 75%, plus a research proposal and a sample of your research.

These are minimums to be considered, not the line that wins. Health sciences are not funded at master's or PhD level. We found no conversion table for Philippine grades, or any other scale, on the official website.

Table: the Türkiye Scholarships age limit and minimum grade by level — associate and bachelor's degree, under 21, at least 70% academic achievement or 90% for Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy; master's, under 30, at least 75%; PhD, under 35, at least 75%. These are minimums to be considered, not the line that wins.

What the Scholarship Covers

A full-time Türkiye Scholarships award is a full scholarship to study in Türkiye: it covers university and department placement, tuition, a monthly stipend, accommodation, health insurance, a one-year Turkish language course, and a flight when you first travel to Türkiye and when you graduate.

Placement means your admission to a university and department is arranged from the choices you list. The search tool on turkiyeburslari.gov.tr lists fields as wide as computer engineering, medicine, teacher education and fine arts. The Art Scholarship Program funds music, performing arts and fine arts at three universities.

The stipend, as the official site lists it in September 2026, is 6,500 TL a month at associate and bachelor's level, 9,500 TL at master's and 13,000 TL at PhD. Figures change; confirm them first.

An undergraduate can stay in a dormitory for the whole degree; master's and PhD scholars get a dormitory in the first year and a housing allowance after that. Merit Scholarship Program holders receive twice the regular stipend.

The Turkish Language Year Comes First

Every scholar arriving in Türkiye without a C1 Turkish certificate takes the one-year Turkish language course first, including those placed in English-medium programs, and must reach C1 by the end of that year. For an international student on the scholarship, it is also a first year inside a new language and culture, spent at a university Turkish teaching center (TÖMER). The Directorate may let some students in foreign-language programs start directly, with the Turkish certificate still due before they finish; do not plan on it.

A student who fails the year has the scholarship frozen until they submit a proficiency certificate, and cancelled if they have not reached it by the end of the second year. So start learning Turkish before you apply. You are protecting the year everything else depends on.

A Filipina scholar stands and speaks Turkish aloud in a small classroom during her Turkish language year, in warm late-afternoon light.

Do You Need IELTS?

IELTS is not necessary for every Türkiye Scholarships applicant; it matters where your chosen program asks for an English certificate. Many programs at Turkish universities are taught in Turkish. If you wish to study in an English-taught program, you need an internationally accepted language certificate, such as TOEFL, or an equivalent certificate the university officially accepts, and most such programs also ask for admission test results such as the SAT or GRE. IELTS appears in the Merit thresholds (6.5 for undergraduates, 7.0 for master's and PhD), not as a general minimum.

How to Apply: The Application Calendar and the Steps

You apply yourself, online, through the Türkiye Scholarships Application System (TBBS), and the first step is registering there. The published application calendar:

  • Applications: January 10 – February 20 every year, the program says (the 2026 call's dates)
  • Evaluation: March–April
  • Interviews: April–June
  • Results: early August
  • Arrival in Türkiye: September

The 2027 call itself has not been announced as we write; confirm its dates on the official website.

In TBBS you can list 12 university and department choices, and you upload: a valid identity document (passport or ID card), a photo taken within the last year, national exam results if any, a diploma or temporary graduation certificate, a transcript, and international admission test results (SAT, GRE or GMAT) only where your chosen program requires them. Request your transcript and diploma from your registrar's office early, and see our guide to credential recognition abroad.

Applications are made online and free of charge. Anyone who asks for a fee to "secure" your application is charging for something given away. Walk away.

How Selection Works

Türkiye Scholarships selection runs in stages: a preliminary assessment, an expert evaluation, a test for undergraduates, an interview and a final assessment.

  1. Preliminary assessment: grades, age limits and documents.
  2. Expert evaluation: academic record, interests, career goals, the consistency of your choices, your letter of intent, and social activities.
  3. A test for undergraduate candidates: 30 questions of mathematics, geometry and logic in 60 minutes. Health sciences, science and engineering candidates need enough English to follow it; social science candidates are tested too.
  4. Interview, then final assessment: usually 15 to 30 minutes with academics and experts, opening with a document check, then your purpose, knowledge and career goals. Bring the documents of your latest completed education.

The program calls itself competitive: that is the honest measure of your chances.

Diagram: Türkiye Scholarships selection runs in stages — preliminary assessment, expert evaluation, a test for undergraduates, an interview and a final assessment.

Your University Choices Are a Career Plan

Treat the university choices on a TBBS application as a career plan: the expert committee weighs your career goals and the consistency of your preferences. Our advice, not a published rule: let your choices climb toward one field, not scatter. The application is a career plan before it is a form. Write it as one.

A funded degree is a rung, not a finish line. The official site advises checking that your field is recognised in the Philippines, and says its alumni network has more than 150,000 members in 160 countries. Decide now what the degree should lead to, starting with the career questions Filipino students ask us.

Before You Apply: A Checklist

  • Check your age and grades against your level.
  • Pick a field from the search list that counts back home.
  • Make your choices tell one story.
  • Request your transcript and diploma from your registrar's office.
  • Start learning Turkish.
  • Watch the official website for the next call.

The Questions Filipinos Ask Us Most

Does it cost anything to apply for Türkiye Scholarships? No. It is a government scholarship, and applications are made online and free of charge through its own application system.

Can I apply in my final year? Yes. A final-year student can apply if they will graduate before August of the current academic year.

When does the next call open? The last call ran from 10 January to 20 February 2026, dates the program says recur every year; the 2027 call is not yet announced.

Sources

The program's official website, turkiyeburslari.gov.tr:

YTB — international students: https://www.ytb.gov.tr/en/departments/international-students